The Color Wheels Mystery …

[Andy Patterson]

Interesting. I have not downloaded the latest FCPX update yet.

[Bill Davis]

Happy New Year, Simon.

This kinda got hashed out 2 weeks ago on the 28,000 member Final Cut Pro X Editors Facebook Group.

The thread was started by Radim Řezníček under the heading…

The color management tools inside FCPX or when two do the same, it’s not always the same…

Some serious color professionals weighed in and the conclusion appeared to be that while some of Apples choices might not be absolutely optimal for some professional colorists accustomed to truly bespoke tools – the new tools are an excellent enhancement to the software. (And it’s obvious that no FCP X editor will quibble at the new capabilities price! )

You might want to stop by there and read the thread. Somebody named Phil Pan participated and it appears he’s a top tier color science guy working in or near Hollywood on big $$$, mission critical stuff.

Might help anyone interested in the new FCP X Color tools to better understand Apples approach.

FWIW.

Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery.

[Simon Ubsdell]

And a Happy New Year to you too, Bill!

I’m afraid I don’t do Facebook on a matter of principle so I’m not sure how to access the discussion you mention.

I’d love to hear a bit more about the color science if you’re able to give some details, but at the same time I’d really like to get a handle on some more general questions here.

a) Why did Apple deviate from the maths of the standard model? (The line of least resistance would have been to stick with the Color Board system but they chose to go a different route.)

b) Why did they adopt one model for the Color Board and a completely new one for the Color Wheels?

c) Is the Color Wheel model preferable to the Color Board?

d) If so, in what ways? Is there a particular aesthetic that we can benefit from?

I’m hoping you can help shed some light on these questions given your intimate knowledge of the software and your insight into Apple’s game plan.

https://hawaiki.co/color.html
https://hawaiki.co/automatch.html
https://hawaiki.co/autograde.html
https://hawaiki.co/hawaiki.analyzer.html

Simon Ubsdell
tokyo productions
hawaiki

[Bill Davis]

First off, trust me, you don’t want to look to me for ANY information on color science. I’m clueless beyond the rudimentary practical knowledge I use for getting my exports “viewable” – and claim nothing else.

But I did enjoy reading that public discussion about how X handles color science when the new FCP X color tools arrived with 10.4.

It went in way more depth than I could ever summarize here – (and I’d likely get many details wrong through ignorance as well!) but since they were public posts, I suppose it’s fair game to copy and paste the most informative of them to you in a private email.

That might help you form specific questions that you could bring back here in the hopes that others more knowledgeable than I might take things further for you.

Keep an eye on your email.

Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery.

[Simon Ubsdell]

[Bill Davis] “Keep an eye on your email.”

Thanks, Bill. I appreciate it.

Simon Ubsdell
tokyo productions
hawaiki

[Bill Davis]

I can do a VERY general summarization

Some professional colorists are disappointed that the new Tools in X are not ideally ACES or other standards compliant – tho they note that X’s competitors are generally in the same boat. The thread noted that AVID and Premier, even with Lumetri added – have holes in their approaches to grading that dedicated colorists will find lacking.

Resolve wasn’t mentioned in the referenced thread – so I don’t know wether or not Resolve colorists feel they have absolutely everything they need “in Suite.”
I’d suspect it’s much closer due to it’s heritage as a bespoke grading tool in it’s prior life

If you want to do your grading inside X – you can get closer if you deactivate the “Preserve Luma” checkbox in FCP X. After after step, apparently, it’s curves adjustment functions will be fully industry compliant, but the color wheels may still get you in technical trouble if used improperly. (this is my reading of things, to be taken with a grain of salt.)

Bottom line, for the legions of FCP X editors who do not wish to take on grading at a professional level – the new color tools are a great addition.

For those who wish to be both editors AND top ranked colorists and work in one program – there are still holes in ALL the current popular NLEs (Resolve perhaps excepted?) that can only be addressed by turning to bespoke tools.

That’s my takeaway, at least.

Others who know more can weigh in on anything I might have gotten wrong.

Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery.

[Mathieu Ghekiere]

If the color board does it correctly, wouldn’t this be a bug? It being completely new in 10.4?

https://mathieughekiere.wordpress.com

[Bill Davis]

Mathieu,

You are missing the point.

2011-2017 The Color Board was the Devils handiwork and Completely unprofessional.

Now it’s 2018 and since Apple has added Color Wherls and Curves – it’s THOSE that are unprofessional and the Color Board is righteous and true.

Get with the narrative!

(Obviously teasing)

Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery.

[Bret Williams]

I think it’s a mess. It’s not right. I paid attention to the thread Bill was speaking of and it didn’t put any matters to ease for me. I’d call it a bug. Hopefully they’ll fix it.

_______________________________________________________________________
https://BretFX.com FCPX Plugins & Templates for Editors & Motion Graphics Artists
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Clock Maker https://bretfx.com/product/bretfx-clock-maker/

[Tero Ahlfors]

[Simon Ubsdell] “Have Apple come up with a new, more aesthetically pleasing, or more operationally efficient concept?”

I’d hope it’s just a bug instead of a new, undocumented paradigm. Too bad because those tools look pretty nifty.